A Rose on Fire
by Yvonne May
Summary: A rewrite and hopefully continuation of my other story, "Stranger Things have Happened" Enjoy! Hoping to update on every, or every other Sunday. Rated M for coming adult content :)
1. Chapter 001

A/N

Alright guys! Here she is! The first chapter of my rework. The other story will probably remain up for approximately the next 72 hours to a week before I take it down. I hope you guys enjoy! (This time around nothing has happened between Rose and Adrian{no biting} in the last 24 hours)

Much Love Mes Amis!

Chapter theme songs: 1 "I would die for you" by Miley Cyrus

2 "Pacify Her" by Melanie Martinez

3 "Silhouette" by Birdy

_**(Play Song 1)**_

I stood outside of the building Dimitri was being held in. His words from the church earlier that morning rang loud and clear in my head but I needed to try again. After everything we had been through there was no way he could expect me to give up on him so easily.

I took a hesitant step forward and a familiar tingling sensation spread through my head. I pushed it away not needing to get sucked into Lissa's head at the current moment. I'd seen enough of her and fire boys escapades to last two lifetimes.

The handle of the door was so cold, I jerked away at the burning sensation. I took in a deep breath before trying again and managed to swing the door open. As I walked past the guardian's desk the man dressed in all black gave me little more acknowledgement than a nod, but it was enough to know I was aloud further back.

I was always surprised by the updated interiors of some of the buildings on the grounds of the court. Grey walls with black and chrome furnishings. Some sort of white cream tile lined the floors. It was the fancy, high class version of a prison.

I entered the dimly lit empty hallway, surprised not to see more guards like the last time. I pulled open the next heavy door, the one that led me straight down to Dimitri. Taking the stairs one at a time, I tried to gather my thoughts into order. I was still unsure of what I was going to say to him.

_How could a love like ours ever fade?_ I asked myself, slowly taking the next step and pausing. I wasn't trying to ask Dimitri to pick up where we left off before he was turned, but I at least needed his friendship and guidance. In my opinion, at this point we owe each other that much.

I continued down the stairs, still unaware of how I was fully going to argue my case for our friendship. I know I do better on the fly, but even if I'd thought of something it'd probably slip from my mind the moment I saw Dimitri's face. After several flights, and what seems like ages, my feet finally met the bottom of the stairs.

_**(Play song 2)**_

Some of the ceiling lights were burnt out, adding to the gloomy feel of the building. Lissa and I would need to speak with the queen about getting Dimitri better accommodations. He was clearly no longer a threat to anyone and didn't deserve to continue being treated this way.

I kept my eyes on my feet as I made my way down the wide path to Dimitri's cell. It was of course all the way in the back, but no guard was standing watch today. I took it as a good sign until I grew closer.

The noises coming from Dimitri's cell finally hit my ears. I guess I had been too lost in my own head to notice before. There was a deep groan and I ran down the rest of the hallway. No amount of training could have ever prepared me for what I saw as I came to a stop in front of the cell.

I had been totally wrong in thinking Dimitri was in some kind of trouble when it was quite the opposite. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself as the blonde woman in front of him on her knees continued to pleasure him. He brought his head forward off the wall and I slipped back before he could open his eyes and see me.

I wasn't breathing as I kept my body pressed up to the wall. I was torn between wanting to run and figuring out who was in there with him. _Love fades..._

There was a rustling sound and the woman giggled, drawing my attention back to them. I risked another peek at the pair and saw they'd changed positions. The woman was pushed up against the wall with Dimitri holding her up. Her slim pale legs were wrapped around his bare waist.

The blonde woman threw her head back with a moan and a pair of jade green eyes met my own.

"_Lissa_?" The realization knocked the oxygen out of my lungs.

Her eyes widened and Dimitri's body stilled.

"Please, don't stop on my account." I said before retracing my steps at a sprint.

In a rush, I exited the building and pushed past someone on the steps. I couldn't see clearly through the flurry of tears spilling over, so I mumbled some form of an apology and took off again. I was only vaguely aware of a voice trying to get my attention by calling my name.

My legs managed to carry me all the way back to my room, only giving out once I had locked the door. Sliding down the only thing currently separating my rage from the rest of the world, a solid three inch wooden door. It felt like I couldn't catch my breath as I sat there, letting the tears fall.

_Love fades…_

Suddenly my stomach was in my throat and I rushed to the bathroom to empty the contents into the bowl. It only subsides once my body realized there was nothing left to purge. I leaned back against the wall and wiped my face before pulling out my phone.

I deleted messages and voicemails without bothering to check their contents. Next I blocked numbers and then found the one I needed in my contact list. It only rang twice before being picked up.

_**(Play song 3)**_

"Hey kiz, what can I do for you?" Abe's calm deep voice came through the phone.

"I-," My voice broke. "I need to get out of here." It came out as barely more than a broken whisper.

"What happened? Are you in trouble?" Abe's voice grew serious.

"Define trouble?" I chuckled weakly. "No… I just can't be here anymore Abe. I can't do it. I'm done." I stood up from the bathroom floor, not bothering to check my reflection in the mirror, and made my way back into the bedroom.

"I'll call and set you up with a car. Give me a minute, and I'll call right back."

I threw my go bag on my bed and pulled out a suitcase from the closet. I quickly began stuffing my things into it. I'd only managed to have gotten halfway through the dresser before there was a knock on the door and my phone started to ring. Looking back and forth, I opted to answer the phone first.

"Hang on," I said to Abe before yelling at the door. "I'm a little indisposed at the moment, come back later please!"

"Rose... it's Christian."

"Shit, shit, shit…" I whispered as I walked up to the door. "I can't right now Chris."

"The car is taken care of." Abe said into my ear. "It's a black BMW at the front of the compound. Building closest to the gate. Call me when you're on the road and we'll discuss your next step Rose." He hung up before I could respond and I was left staring at the door, twisting my fingers unsure of what to do.

"Please." Christian's voice pleaded.

I sighed and pulled the door open.

"You look like shit." Christian said with a small smile.

"You're not looking so hot either Sparky. What do you want?" I asked as he pushed past me and looked around my room.

"Going somewhere?" He looked back at me.

"Yeah..." The knife in my gut twisted. I was unsure if I should elaborate any further.

"Because of them." It wasn't a question, Christian knows.

"How did you find out?" I closed the door and moved around him to finish packing.

"I was going in as you were coming out. They were still… _cleaning up_… when I got down there. It was simple enough to put two and two together." Christian settled on my bed.

Christian was silent as he stared at the plain cream colored wall opposite of him. His ice blue eyes were dark and haunted. The normally slicked down pitch black hair was all over the place. His pale skin was ashen and more lifeless than usual. If he didn't look exactly how I felt, I'd have made fun of him.

"I wanna come with you." Chris said, finally looking at me. "At least to get away from here. If you want to split up after that, I'll figure something else out." In a move of self preservation, he crossed his arms and lifted his head slightly.

I wanted to argue that Christian should stay here where he could be properly protected. I wanted to leave all of this behind, and he would be a constant reminder. Yet I couldn't find it in myself, he was just as broken and who was I to make him stay.

"Go pack. I'll text you when I'm on my way out."

Christian shot up and ran from the room. I heard a muffled 'thank you' after he'd gotten a ways down the hall. It wasn't long before I had everything I wanted packed into the suitcase.

I swung my bag over my shoulder and grabbed the handle of the suitcase. Taking one last look around the room I saw the picture of Lissa and I on the desk. The one we took what seems lifetimes ago. I'd left it next the rose necklace I'd worn the night I'd fallen into Dimitri's bed, with a piece of paper that read simply "_Goodbye_".

After pulling the door closed I took out my phone to let Christian know I was leaving and where he could meet me. The car was exactly where Abe said it would be, in front of the building closest to the gate. Chris was already there when I came walking up.

"Have you told anyone?" Chris asked as I opened up the trunk of the pretty, black 2015 3 series BMW.

"Other than Abe, no, and I don't plan to. You?" We threw our bags into the back and walked around to our respective sides of the car.

"I called the guardians while I was packing." He paused to enter the car before continuing. " To let them know you needed to be temporarily reassigned to me."

The inside of the car was all black, from the leather seats to the shiny dash buttons. It was gorgeous. I pressed the start button and it came to life. Leave it to Abe to have us driving out of hell in style.

"What did you say to them?" I asked putting the car in drive and taking off for the exit.

"That I had family business and needed you to come with me." I saw him shrug out of the corner of my eye.

"Simple enough." I agreed.

Once we were safely through the gate I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I took off going way above the speed limit. The horizon to the East was turning from black to purple indicating the sun would be coming up soon.

I reached into my back pocket to pull out my phone to make my next call to Abe. He picked up before it'd even had a chance to properly ring.

"Rose?" I could hear the tension in his voice.

"We're on the road heading East." I answered.

"We?" Abe's voice raised an octave.

"Ozera's with me. I'll be able to drive for a few hours if there's enough fog and cloud cover." I looked over at Christian, he already looked exhausted and I didn't want him getting any worse with the sun.

"You fly out of Philadelphia International tonight at 11pm. It's a private jet but I'll call about Mr. Ozera."

"Oh, Abe umm, I'm not sure-" I started stumbling over my words and glanced at Christian.

"Yes." Christian interrupted.

"Nevermind. I'll call you again when we stop." I said to Abe.

"Make sure once you get to the airport you get rid of your cell phones and anything else traceable. I'll have other accommodations waiting for you on the jet." And with that, Abe hung up.

"Bye to you too old man." I grumbled as I discarded the cell phone into the cupholder.


	2. Chapter 002

"He'll know that was a bullshit excuse Rose. Abe's the one who set up the car for you. Do you really think he doesn't know the windows are protected?" Christian looked at me accusingly.

"I need to stop. It won't be long, I just need a shower and a change of clothes. On the off chance we do have someone who follows us, I don't want to give them the opportunity to catch up."

I had a death grip on the steering wheel as I flew down the back road. I was eager to put as much distance between us and _them_ as possible.

"You really think anyone will come after us?" Christian sounded skeptical and a look in his direction confirmed it.

"I think it's always a possibility. This _is _my third time disappearing now, just trust me." I turned on the radio trying to prevent any further discussion on the topic. I wasn't in the mood to talk any more than necessary.

Luckily Sparky took the hint and settled in for the long haul.~~~

We were running low on gas so I decided the next town would be fine to stop in for an hour or so. Christian had fallen asleep somewhere between the first few towns we drove through. I didn't want to wake him up until it was absolutely necessary though. He looked so peaceful sleeping and I figured at least one of us should get some reprieve from the heartache.

I pulled off into the first little motel the town had to offer, on the off chance it was the only one. I left the car running as I went in to get a room and was pleased to find that they accepted cash. The name I'd signed was 'Christina Mazur', praying Abe and Christian wouldn't mind the alias too much.

Before getting back into the car, I pulled out my phone to update Abe. He picked up in the middle of the second ring.

"Where are you?" Abe's voice, though businessy, held a hint of worry.

I smiled a little before answering, for a man who'd been MIA for most of my life he sure did step into the paternal role easily. "Mifflintown, we're going to stop here for a while to sleep and refuel."

"Make sure you keep an eye on the time…" Abe was silent for a moment before releasing a long sigh. "Will you-"

"Not yet." I interrupted him, guessing where that line was about to go. "I need some time to- you know what? It doesn't matter right now… Will you be at the airport?"

"No, I'm currently tending to some work outside of the country." His voice had gotten a little stiff.

"Right work…" I said drawing out the vowels. "Sure old man… On a serious note… Thanks for helping..." I kicked at the loose gravel around my feet.

"Anytime kiz." I could hear the smile in his voice before the call ended.

A knock from inside the car against the glass window startled me. I quickly turned around and had a firm grip on my stake. I relaxed and rolled my eyes when I realized it was just Sparky, whom I had startled back. While still chuckling, I motioned for him to roll down the window.

"What's up buttercup?" I asked with a grin.

"What the hell was that about?" Christian asked with a frown.

"I was talking with Abe." I answered plainly before walking around the car and getting in.

Christian was silent as I drove across the lot, closer to where our room was. Bottom floor, door on the outside, and closest to the exit that led back to the highway. I was playing it cautious, but better safe than sorry.

The hotel was older and clearly worn down on the outside. The building was an off yellow with a red roof that matched the room doors. The outside trim was a dirty white and red and I didn't have high hopes for the room we were about to enter.

I had to slide the key card in and out of the reader several times before it clicked open. Motioning for Christian to wait by the door so I could do a quick look around. He rolled his eyes when I checked under the double bed that was in the room and behind the couch.

The interior mirrored the outside, with its red and yellow theme. All complimented by matching floral furniture and bedding that probably should have been left in the 80s when the place likely opened. The bathroom looked clean enough and I relaxed my shoulders a little.

"All clear." I said to him popping back out of the bathroom. "Get some sleep, I'll take the couch when I'm done." I said as I motioned for him to move to the bed.

I grabbed the go bag I'd left at the door and went back into the bathroom. After several attempts to close the door all the way to lock it, I sighed and gave up. It was highly unlikely that Christian wanted to be in here at the same time anyways.

I turned the water to as hot as it would go, in hopes of sanitizing the shower, and let it run for a bit before I entered. The water hadn't been as scorching hot as I'd have hoped for as I ducked under the shower head and let the water run over my skin. Just as I had finally relaxed and shut my eyes, unwanted images of Dimitri and Lissa flashed through my mind.

What I couldn't tell is if I had been sucked into Lissa's head,if it was a flashback from earlier, or if it was just my own imagination torturing me. I sunk to the bottom of the tub and pulled my knees up to my chest. Tears mixed with water as I tried to contain the silent sobs that wracked my chest.

I dug my nails into my arms trying to get ahold of myself. It wasn't the time or place to fall apart, not yet, not with Christian right in the next room. I hadn't realised I had broken the skin until I saw the water going down the drain take on a shade of pink. A few more deep breaths and I retracted my fingers before standing up on shaky legs. I sped through the remainder of the shower, unwilling to close my eyes again.

I dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve black v-neck. I pulled on my black vans and then threw my wet hair up into a messy ponytail. As I was cleaning up the bathroom, I debated on throwing away the clothes I'd been previously wearing but decided against it. They'd be fine after several cycles in the wash with actual hot water, and if that didn't work… setting them on fire would be fun. Once I was ready, I exited the bathroom to find Christian sitting upright in bed watching tv.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked settling onto the edge and tossing my bag against the front door.

"Not really. How was your shower?" He asked keeping his eyes on the loud tv.

"I didn't get to practice burning in hell, so I guess it could have been better."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I could've taken care of that for you, still could."

"Maybe next time Sparky." I shifted off the bed and settled into the couch. "Do you want to shower before we head out again?" I joined him in staring at the old box tv.

"After the high praise it just got from you? Definitely." He replied sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and peeked at Christian as he gathered his things. After watching him also struggle with door and settle for cracked, I tuned into what he had left on. _Forensic Files,_ really Sparky?

I spent the next five minutes channel surfing only to settle back onto what Christian had been watching, _Forensic Files it is then..._Just when it was getting to the part of who the killer was Christian came out of the bathroom looking a little more revived. Just a _little_.

Christian was dressed in an almost identical outfit to myself, but he was wearing all black and a band tee. His raven hair was still damp from the shower and it clung to his forehead in a boyish way. His skin was less ashen and eyes weren't as vacant. Unlike when I had exited the bathroom though, he was also accompanied by dramatic swirls of steam.

"Good shower?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the tv's subtitles.

"Oh, the best." He replied sarcastically before covering his whole head with a towel. "What's next?"Christian asked with the towel still covering his face.

"Well from here, we're going to the little diner across the street." As if on cue my stomach grumbled. "From there... the next gas station on the way to Philadelphia International."

Sparky pulled the towel off his head. "Where are we going?"

"That's a good question." I said finally looking away from the tv at the commercial break. "I don't actually know. Abe didn't say, and I have been a little too preoccupied to ask. It's an international airport, so possibly anywhere."

"How are you-" Christian started.

"I honestly doubt you want to answer that question any more than I do." I said hitting him with my best attempt at a bitchy glare.

I didn't really have it in me to feel bitchy though. There was nothing I currently wanted more than to roll up in a ball and cry myself to sleep. However, I was too scared as to what I would see when I closed my eyes. Which was probably why Christian hadn't fallen back asleep when I was in the shower.

"Fair point." Christian said as he gathered up our bags. "Lets go get some food then."~~~

"Three cheese omelette, sausage _and _bacon, with home fries please; and if I could have a pancake instead of toast that be amazing." I placed my order with the server and then sipped on my coffee as Christian gave his order.

The girl hadn't bothered to look at me as she scrawled my order down but was now giving Christian her full attention. Doe eyed and all, it was sweet really, but Christian didn't even bother to look up.

"I'll have the roast beef sandwich with fries please." Christian said as he handed over our menus.

The young girl tucked the menus under her arm and scrawled out his order before giving a perky "Right away, sir." and bouncing off.

I fetched my phone from my pocket to updated Abe. This time, after Sparky so politely reminded me, I was able to ask about our destination. It didn't do much good though.

"Best not to say over the phone, I'll instruct the pilot to fill in that information once you arrive." I relayed the text message to Christian.

"If he wasn't your father Rose, I'd say that sounded suspicious." He narrowed his eyes at me over the brim of his cup before taking a long drink of water.

I shrugged and we fell back into silence, toying with our cups as we continued waiting for our food to show up.


	3. Chapter 003

Songs: (1) Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine

(2) Six Feet Under by Billie Eilish

(_Play song 1_)

"You could slow down just a bit Rosie." Christian said, scrutinizing my driving skills. "We've got plenty of time to make it to the airport."

"There could be traffic driving through the city." I responded as we entered the outskirts of Philadelphia.

Christian scoffed. "I seriously doubt it would be enough traffic to take up the next 5 hours of our lives. We'll be sitting in that airport for forever."

"It's a private jet. I'm sure as soon as they're ready we can go." I switched lanes to avoid a particularly slow car in the _fast lane_.

"Cop."

"Bless you?" I said thinking maybe he had sneezed.

"No, COP Rose! Cop!" Christian clarified but it was already too late.

I flew right past the patrol car I hadn't noticed. I held my breath and stared at the rearview mirror. Sure enough, half a second later the lights were flashing.

"Shit." I said drawing the vowel out. "Do you think if I just kept going, maybe he wouldn't catch up with me?"

I sighed at the look on Christian's face and pulled over anyways. Twisting my hands tightly around the steering wheel, I waited for the officer to approach the window.

"Little lady, do you know how fast you were flying just now?" The older gentleman asked as he looked into the car.

I had been preparing to charm my way out of the situation when Christian leaned across the center console and caught the officers attention. "So sorry officer. It's an emergency. We're on the way to the airport."

"The airport is hardly an emergency son." The officer replied with mild wit.

"It is, you see we're flying to see our father who lives in Scotland. He had a bad heart attack and our mom isn't sure he is going to make it through this one."

"I-," The officer struggled for words and it was then I realised Christian had been weaving his story with compulsion. The older man blinked a few times and nodded at Christian. "That _is _an emergency, I hope your Pops is okay. You guys have a safe flight."

With a tip of his cover, the officer retreated back to his vehicle and drove off into the growing sea of cars. Christian sighed and slumped back into his seat.

"Now drive slower."

When we arrived at the airport, I informed Abe and he was only able to get the jet there an hour earlier. So as Christian had expected, we sat for several hours waiting at the gate as we had been instructed to. I had just finished picking at a hamburger when our names were called over the intercom.

We were directed down a flight of stairs and out onto the tarmac where the jet was waiting. The pilot was standing at the bottom of the jet's latter for us. The gentleman gave me a polite handshake and introduced himself.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Rosemarie, I am Geoffrey Hamilton." He turned to Christian and extended his hand. "You must be Mr. Ozera, a pleasure."

"Likewise Sir. Could you tell us where we'll be going?" Christian asked as he released the pilot's hand.

"I will be taking you to sunny San Diego sir. Now, if you would not mind, before we board I've been instructed by Mr. Mazure to discard any phones or cards you all might be carrying." Geoffrey gave us a warm smile and extended an open hand.

We both handed over our phones and double checked our wallets. I had ditched the cards after we grabbed food in the airport thinking we wouldn't need them anymore. After that, Geoffrey directed us to board the jet and get ourselves settled.

The inside of the jet was very high class. There were several chairs that recline and a sofa, a fully stocked mini fridge and microwave, two little tvs and small table. Everything was either tan leather, dark wood, or a cream white color.

I chose to get comfortable on the couch, which just so happened to be the closest spot next to the mini fridge. Christian on the other hand, chose the recliner in front of a tv... closest to the exit. We had both settled in when Geoffrey stated over the intercom that we'd be taking off shortly after a quick safety brief.

(_Play song 2_)

Somewhere over Missouri, or maybe it was Oklahoma, I drifted off to sleep watching tv over Christian's shoulder. It started off relatively peaceful, just a black nothingness. Then suddenly I was staring into a pair of beautiful brown eyes.

I stumbled back and fell onto a bed.

"Dimitri, no." I scrambled back, trying to put more distance between the two of us.

Dimitri was on me in the time it took me to blink. His weight halted any further retreat and pressed my body into the soft bed. For what felt like forever he stared into my eyes, a hand in my hair tilting my head back. My lungs burned and plead for oxygen as I continued to deprive them of their basic needs.

He mumbled something in Russin, causing his lips to brush against my own. My body relaxed a fraction of an inch and he took that as his signal. Dimitri trailed kisses from my cheek to the valley between my throat and shoulder. With each gentle caress I relaxed further into him.

Another careless blink of the eye and we were both stripped of our clothes. Dimitri's body was on fire, setting my every nerve ending ablaze. More greedy kisses were shared and Dimitri mumbled incoherently against my skin.

Dimitri positioned himself at my entrance and agonizingly slow, he penetrated my folds.

"Oh Lissa." He groaned into my ear.

"What?" I asked as my body tensed up.

"Is something wrong?" Dimitri asked, pulling back to look into my eyes.

"What did you just say?" I asked him.

He thrusted and looked down at me with a seductive smile. "Lissa."

"I don't- wai-wh-." I started fumbling over my words and trying to get away from him.

Dimitri's face grew dark and his hold on me tightened as he warned, "Don't."

"Let go of me." I yelled and shoved against his chest. "Stop it."

He shoved me against the bed and all of a sudden his eyes were red. "Give in to me."

I began to shake, "Dimitri, get off. Let go! Dimitri stop, no!" I yelled over and over as tears spilled over onto my cheeks.

"_Rose! Rose wake up!_" A voice in the back of my mind was yelling at me.

Dimitri leaned forward, his lips parted, and I waited for the pain of his teeth sinking into me.

"_Rose_!"

Suddenly I was looking into the icy blue eyes of Chrisitan Ozera. I had been struggling against him in my sleep and my body suddenly went still. There were scratches on his cheek and and nail marks on his arms.

"Rose?" Christian asked cautiously. I pulled away from him and stood up.

"I- I'm so sorry." I said as more tears fell down my already soaked cheeks.

"Shh, it's okay." He said, eyeing me cautiously. "It was just a dream Rose."


	4. Chapter 004

A/N: Sorry for the long break, I found some time to write so here's another chapter for anyone interested.

"It was just a dream Rose." Christian repeated.

"Just a dream, right." I mumbled. "Sorry about your face." I uttered as I turned my back to him and swiped at the tears.

The nightmare had been close enough to the real thing, it sent shivers down my spine. My mind was at war with itself. On one hand, Dimitri was safe and no longer a strigoi, but on the other… _Maybe it would have worked out better had I taken him up on his original offer._

I shook my head and then attempted to shake out the tension in my shoulders. Under no circumstances would that have been better... for anyone. I turned to face Christian who was still eyeing me cautiously.

"You okay?" He asked raising his left eyebrow?

"Yup." My lips popped. "I'm fine. Really. Just a dream, a bad dream, sorry about all of… that." I gestured at his body.

"Considering you're a trained guardian, I'll count myself lucky." Christian gave a cocky grin in attempts to mask his true feelings.

I grabbed the closest thing to me and chucked it at his head. The plush pillow landed on its mark and I couldn't help but chuckle at the bewilderment on his face.

"Sorry for the interruption," The pilot's voice sounded over the intercom. "We will be landing in San Diego in a little under an hour, the forecast looks clear so we should experience minimal turbulence on our descent this morning."

"Right… San Diego." A frown settled on both of our faces. "So…" The air dried out my mouth and I went to the minifridge for a water bottle. I grabbed two and settle into the couch next to where Christian hat sat.

"San Diego." Christian said as he took the small bottle. "Somehow not where I imagined Abe sending us."

"Me either." I breathed after chugging water. "It's not as far as I'd like, but it's a start. He probably has close connections here or something."

"Speaking of starts, what's the plan when we land?" Christian asked.

"Well I've dragged your ass along this far, I won't kick you off this train wreck now if you want to hang around." I shoved his shoulder.

"I'm good with a little wreckage." He said just before whacking me with the pillow.

"Keep that in mind whenever we figure out what Abe has in store for us."

We settled into a comfortable enough silence as we tuned into whatever Christian had been watching before my nightmare.

Soon enough the jet was descending onto a private tarmac at a small airport. Being that it was still the middle of the night I got to take in some of the far off city lights as we made our way onto the tarmac.

"I thought you said we were landing in San Diego?" I called up to the pilot upon landing.

"Close enough." Geoffrey said when he entered the main cabin after landing, with a small blue duffle bag at his side.

"From your father." He extended the bag out to me. Geoffrey proceeded to unload our cargo, despite my attempts at claiming we were more than capable of handling it ourselves.

Once we had settled everything outside of the jet, I noticed a little black Prius slowly driving up. Naturally, I positioned myself in front of Christian. At a few feet away the car stopped and the man who had been driving, stepped out and approached us.

"You must be Rosemarie." The older blonde man gave an elegant bow before extending his hand. "I'm Robert Ellis, long time business friend of your father's."

Mr. Robert Ellis was a tall man with shadows under his eyes. The kind of eyes that led you to believe he had one too many secrets. Though I suppose to work with Abe you had to at least have one skeleton in your closet.

"Rose is fine." I corrected as we shook hands. Though he seemed frail, his handshake was still strong.

Christian stepped around me and reached for the man's hand next.

"Ah, Mr. Christian Ozera." Robert said as they clasped hands.

"All of your important things are in your little blue bag ma'am." Geoffrey said nodding before moving our things to the trunk of the Prius.

I slid the zipper open and peaked at the items inside. _Lots_ of cash, ids and passports. Quickly zipping it up, I slung it over my shoulder.

"So… What's next Mr. Ellis?" I said, directing my attention back to the older gentleman.

"Abe thought a little bit of sunshine would do you good... So you'll be staying with me until further arrangements are made." He smiled as he turned to approach the car. "And please, call me Bert."

"Really, I wouldn't want to impose Mr. El-," he waved a hand at me dismissively.

"Oh hush child and get in."

I glanced at Christian who shrugged and walked over to the car.

Suddenly, the bag on my shoulder began to vibrate. I immediately unzipped it and rummaged around until I found a black flip phone. Rolling my eyes, I flipped it open and pressed the green phone to answer the call.

"How was the flight?" Abe's voice came through the phone.

"Uneventful." I lied while I waved at Geoffrey as he made his way back into said plane.

"I'm sure you've met Bertie by now." He said matter of factly.

"We have." My eyes drifted back to the man buckling his seatbelt.

"I'd suggest you get in the car or he'll knock the wind right out of you." My eyes narrowed at the hint of a smile in Abe's voice.

"You sent a Moroi with an Air affinity?" I frowned at the phone.

"Just in case Ozera decides to try anything funny." His voice dropped with sweetness.

"Sure old man…. So what's next?"

"Get in the car."

With a light click, I shut the phone and slid in behind Christian.

"So Rose, how is Abe?" Robert asked looking back at me through the rear view mirror. There was a knowing grin on his face that wrinkled the skin around his dark eyes.

"Just fine _Bertie_, just _fine_." I tucked the duffle bag between my feet and locked my seatbelt into place.

Christian glances between the two of us, the obvious rise in tension on my part queuing him in. I shook my head at the both of them and looked out the window as the car was put in drive.


End file.
